Internet Learning Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 2012 | Page 50

A Research Review about Online Learning

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The second theory is based on the work of Bean and Metzner, who, in contrast to Tinto,
describe non-traditional students over the age of 24 who are not influenced so much by peer
interactions or social integration as they are by the encouragement they may get from friends,
employers, and family, as well as from the utility of education they have enrolled in (Bean and
Metzner 1985).
The third theory is called "Community of Inquiry" and is based on the work of Garrison,
Anderson, and Archer, who combined three constructs: social presence, teaching presence and
cognitive presence. The authors note, however, that these constructs are more of a learning
model than a retention model, per se (Garrison, Anderson, and Archer 2000).
Social presence is the ability of students and faculty to project themselves socially and
emotionally. Teaching presence is the binding element to creating the Community of Inquiry and
includes developing, managing, and facilitating higher-order learning. Cognitive presence is the
process of knowledge construction or critical thinking and moves from perceiving through
exploration to integration and resolution (Garrison, Anderson, and Archer 2000).
Why Students Drop Out
Meyer et al. also mention several studies on why students drop out of online learning, referring
to a Willing and Johnson study in which students’ reasons for dropping out of online courses
were no different than in the face-to-face environment (Willging and Johnson 2004). A study of
an online MBA program found that online courses such as accounting and business statistics had
higher attrition rates than on-campus courses (Terry 2001). Another study concluded that many
students drop out of online courses because they simply were too stretched with work and family
responsibilities to devote enough time to their classwork (Diaz 2002).
Why Students Stay
Regarding the study of the online certification program and its near-perfect retention rate, Meyer
et al. found that the flexibility, convenience, and the relevancy of the program to their careers
and job were what initially attracted students to this program.
What keeps these students enrolled are various qualities of the faculty, the quality of the
coursework, and personal reasons. Perhaps one can tentatively conclude that while it is the online
nature of the program that lures a student to enroll (and allows them to stay enrolled), it is the
nature of the relationships with faculty, the quality of the educational experience, and their own
personal and individual reasons and motivations that keep them enrolled (Meyer, Bruwelheide,
and Poulin 2006).
The Importance of Student Services
Providing effective, professional, and sufficient student services are also very important elements
that help keep students motivated, satisfied, and enrolled in online learning courses and
programs. In particular, two areas of high concern in relation to student services were noted in a
paper based on a study of 272 online degree-seeking students from six higher education
institutions: bookstore services and academic advising.
While online vendors such as Amazon, Barnes, and Noble, and other booksellers often
provide fairly decent and adequate services for students to purchase the textbooks they need for